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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

朱熹·偶成

Occasional Poem

朱熹

Zhu Xi

哲理Philosophical 惜时Cherishing Time 时序Theme

少年易老学难成，一寸光阴不可轻。
未觉池塘春草梦，阶前梧叶已秋声。

Youth ages easily, learning is hard to achieve;
Not a single inch of time should be taken lightly.
Unaware of the spring-grass dream by the pond,
The wutong leaves before the steps already rustle autumn.

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Meaning

Youth passes quickly while learning is hard to achieve. Not even the smallest amount of time should be wasted. Before one realizes it, the dream of spring grass by the pond is over, and the wutong leaves before the steps already signal autumn's arrival.

少年时光容易老去，学业却难以成就，哪怕一寸光阴也不可轻易放过。还没有觉察到池塘边春草的春梦（青春的春景与诗思）已经逝去，台阶前的梧桐叶已经传来了萧瑟的秋声。

Appreciation

Zhu Xi, a Neo-Confucian scholar of the Southern Song, wrote this poem to urge young people to cherish time and pursue learning. The first two lines directly state the difficulty of achieving learning and the swift passage of youth, emphasizing that even an inch of time must not be taken lightly. The last two lines use vivid imagery—the dream of spring grass and the autumn sound of wutong leaves—to illustrate how time slips away unnoticed, turning an abstract truth into a sensory experience.

【白话串讲】 “少年易老学难成，一寸光阴不可轻”——朱熹劝年轻人：少年容易老，学问难做成，一寸光阴都不能轻看。“未觉池塘春草梦，阶前梧叶已秋声”，时间过得比你想象的快。【意象与手法】前两句直抒理趣：「少年易老」与「学难成」对举，一快一难，警策有力；「一寸光阴不可轻」以「不可轻」三字斩截收束，直揭劝学题旨。后两句转以意象说理：「池塘春草梦」化用谢灵运「池塘生春草」之名句及其梦惠连得句之典，喻青春春光之易逝；「阶前梧叶已秋声」以梧桐落叶、秋声盈耳写时序暗换。由春到秋的刹那转换，将抽象的「时光易逝」化为可感画面，寓情于景，说理而不堕理障。【情感与主旨】朱熹是理学集大成者，一生讲学不辍，极重蒙养与为学次第。此诗（一作《劝学诗》）当为劝勉后学珍惜光阴、及早为学而作。「少年易老」是感慨，「学难成」是告诫，「不可轻」是叮咛，「春草梦」「秋声」则是形象的棒喝：青春如春梦，倏忽即逝，转眼便是梧叶秋声。全诗以理学家的切身体验发为劝学之音，既有师长的殷切，又有哲人的警醒。【名句点睛】「未觉池塘春草梦，阶前梧叶已秋声」是理趣与诗境结合的佳句：以春梦之未觉、秋声之已至，写出时光潜移、猝不及防的怅惘，将劝学之理化为鲜明的季节画面，千百年来警醒无数少年。

Background

Zhu Xi lectured throughout his life, emphasizing the importance of early education and a gradual approach to learning. This poem, also known as 'An Exhortation to Learning,' was likely written in his later years to encourage young students to treasure time and pursue knowledge early. The line 'Youth ages easily, learning is hard to achieve' reflects his educational philosophy, and the poem became widely circulated in traditional elementary education.

朱熹（1130—1200），字元晦，一字仲晦，号晦庵，晚称晦翁，徽州婺源（今属江西）人，南宋理学集大成者，世称朱子。他一生著述宏富，于经学、史学、文学皆有精深造诣，《四书章句集注》成为元明清科举取士的必读经典；其教育实践亦极可观，修复白鹿洞书院、创办武夷精舍，制订《白鹿洞书院揭示》，主张「循序渐进」「熟读精思」「居敬持志」，对后世书院教育影响深远。此诗题《偶成》，一作《劝学诗》，当为朱熹训诲后学、劝勉学子珍惜光阴之作，具体作年已难确考，或谓晚年退居考亭讲学期间。朱熹一生讲学不辍，门下弟子众多，其劝学之语多寓于书信、语录与诗文中；此诗以通俗易晓的四句七言，把「少年易老」「光阴不可轻」的至理化为春草秋梧的画面，正是其「教人有序」「常存戒惧」教育思想的诗化表达。诗中「学难成」之叹，亦含朱熹自身的深味：其为学博极群书，自经史著述而外，凡诸子、佛老、天文、地理之学无不涉猎而讲究其是非，正因其深知学问之艰，方以「不可轻」三字谆谆告诫后学。此诗在南宋以降的蒙学读物中流传极广，与《观书有感》等并为其最有名的说理诗。

Art

The first two lines directly express philosophical insight, contrasting 'easy to age' with 'hard to achieve,' and the phrase 'not be taken lightly' is emphatic. The last two lines shift to imagery: 'spring-grass dream' alludes to Xie Lingyun's famous line, symbolizing the fleetingness of youth, while 'wutong leaves autumn sound' depicts the silent passage of seasons. The sudden transition from spring to autumn visualizes the abstract concept of time, blending emotion with scene and avoiding dry didacticism.

此诗四句，前两句直抒理趣，后两句意象说理，前后形成「理—象」的对照结构，是理学家诗「以象明理」的典型文本。起句「少年易老学难成」以两组对举并置：「少年」对「学」、「易老」对「难成」，一写时光之速、一写为学之艰，快慢难易之间，张力顿生，警策之语不假雕饰而自具力量。承句「一寸光阴不可轻」以「不可轻」三字体要：光阴以「寸」计，极言其少而贵；「不可轻」是斩截的禁令，直揭全篇题旨。转合二句笔锋一转，由议论入意象：「未觉池塘春草梦」写青春之梦方酣、浑然未觉；「阶前梧叶已秋声」写秋声已至、梧叶萧萧。一个「未觉」、一个「已」，把春到秋的漫长时序压缩成刹那转换，如镜头骤切，梦犹未醒而秋已盈庭，时光之不可恃、青春之不可留，尽在画面之中。全诗由直说其理到示之以象，理因象而可感，象因理而有骨，二者相济而不相妨，避免了说理诗易犯的枯燥直露之病，这正是朱熹「理趣」诗高于一般「理障」诗的地方。白居易《劝学》诸作多正面说教，此诗则以意象作结，理愈深而语愈浅，是「老妪能解」之上境。

Allusions

'Spring-grass dream' alludes to Xie Lingyun's line 'The pond grows spring grass' from his poem 'Ascending the Tower by the Pond,' also referencing the story of Xie Lingyun dreaming of his cousin Xie Huilian and composing that line—here it symbolizes the ephemeral beauty of youth. 'Wutong leaves autumn sound' derives from the folk saying 'One wutong leaf falls, and one knows autumn is here,' a traditional phenological observation. Both allusions are well-known and seamlessly integrated, making the exhortation concrete and vivid.

此诗用典精当，皆融化入诗而不着痕迹。其一「池塘春草」：化用南朝宋谢灵运《登池上楼》「池塘生春草，园柳变鸣禽」名句。相传谢灵运在水嘉西堂构思终日不就，忽梦其族弟谢惠连，遂得「池塘生春草」之句，自以为「此语有神助，非吾语也」（见钟嵘《诗品》引《谢氏家录》）。后人遂以「春草池塘」为梦得佳句、灵思忽至之典，亦引申为春光美好、诗思鲜活之象。朱熹此诗取其「梦」义，转以喻青春年华之美好易逝——少年时代的诗思与春梦，如池塘春草，方一萌发便已衰歇。其二「梧叶秋声」：本于「梧桐一叶落，天下尽知秋」的物候传统，典出《淮南子·说山训》「见一叶落而知岁之将暮」，又《花镜》谓梧桐立秋之日一叶先坠，故梧桐素为秋之信使，白居易「秋雨梧桐叶落时」、唐庚「一叶落知天下秋」皆承此意。朱熹以「春草梦」与「秋声」对举，一春一秋、一萌一凋，暗用《周易》「阴阳代谢」的时序观念，把劝学之理置于天道的节律之中，理趣遂与物候之象浑然一体，非深于《易》与诗者不能道。

Commentary

This poem was included in traditional elementary textbooks and widely circulated. Modern critics praise it for its plain language yet profound warning. Though didactic, it is neither stale nor dry. The couplet about 'spring grass' and 'autumn sound' particularly exemplifies the fusion of reason and imagery, making it a model for exhortations to learning.

此诗因收入旧时蒙学课本而流传极广，是朱熹诗中妇孺皆知的一首，历代评论多着眼于其「理趣」与「平易」的统一。明清学人多将此诗与《观书有感》并称，谓朱子说理诗「不腐不枯，不堕理障」，其「池塘春草」「梧叶秋声」一联尤见「理趣相生」之妙。清人李重华《贞一斋诗说》论宋人说理诗，谓「以理语入诗，须有性情风味」，此诗正得之：前二句虽直说理，而「少年易老」四字含无限感慨，非冷冰冰的教条；后二句纯以意象出之，春梦秋声，声色相兼，情致宛然。近人钱穆论朱子之学，特赏其「寓教于文」的功夫，谓其训蒙之作「语近而旨远」，此诗可为注脚。从文学史看，此诗代表了宋代说理诗的正格：有唐人之意象，有宋人之理致，而归于平易近人，与邵雍《击壤集》的理学味、黄庭坚的拗峭涩体皆不同调，开辟了「以诗劝学」的平实一路；后世「劝学诗」如明代文嘉《明日歌》、清代《增广贤文》中惜时之语，皆可溯源于此。其价值不在诗艺之高深，而在以最素朴的形式传递了最恒常的真理，遂成跨越时代的国民记忆。

Prosody

Form Seven-character quatrain, level-tone pattern with first line rhymed七言绝句（平起首句入韵，平水韵·下平八庚）

Rhyme Rhymes in Pingshui rhyme scheme (cheng/qing/sheng, lower level eighth geng category), one rhyme throughout押「成、轻、声」，平水韵下平八庚，一韵到底，首句入韵。

Tone pattern First line level-tone and rhymed, syllables are clear and cautionary平起平收，音节明快警策；前二句议论，后二句写景，声情由直而婉。

Reading note Neo-Confucian exhortation poem, uses imagery to convey truth, accessible yet profound.此诗为七言绝句，平起首句入韵，押平水韵下平八庚（成、轻、声），一韵到底，声情明亮而警策。八庚韵属开口呼的阳声韵，收音于鼻音，读来清亮悠长，正合劝学之音的明朗恳切；三韵皆平，音节齐整，诵之朗朗上口，便于蒙童记诵，这也是此诗得以长期流传于蒙学的原因之一。格律上，首句「少年易老学难成」为仄平仄仄仄平平，平起平收，故首句入韵；「易」为去声，「老」为上声，仄声密集而短促，恰与「学难成」的艰涩语义相配；第二句「一寸光阴不可轻」为仄仄平平仄仄平，「寸」「不」皆入声，读来斩截顿挫；第三句「未觉池塘春草梦」为仄仄平平平仄仄，末字「梦」仄收，不入韵；第四句「阶前梧叶已秋声」为平平平仄仄平平，与第三句相粘，全诗平仄合律。声情上，前二句议论用仄声领起，音节短促警动，如棒喝；后二句写景转平，音节舒展悠长，如叹息——先直后婉、先刚后柔，正与「直说其理、示之以象」的章法相应。此诗以理学家诗而能合律自然、朗朗上口，是「以俗为雅」「以理为诗」而能保持音乐美的典范。

Line by line

少年易老学难成，

Youth slips away, and learning is hard to complete,

少年时光容易老去，学业却难以成就。

Youth passes quickly, yet learning is slow to be achieved.

起句以两组对举立骨，是全诗议论的起点。「少年」与「学」相对，是人最富精力的年华与其最当用功的事业；「易老」与「难成」相对，是时光之快与为学之艰。四个字词两两相形，张力毕现：越易老，越须惜时；越难成，越须及早。朱熹此处不作宽泛的感慨，而把「老」字系于「少年」，极言青春之短暂——常人以为少年方始、来日方长，朱子却当头棒喝：少年正易老，光阴正飞驰。这种反常识的强调，正是理学家「提撕警醒」教法的体现，也是全诗第一记警钟。从声律看，「易老」与「难成」一仄一平，音节上亦形成快慢的对比，语感与语义同构。后世「莫等闲，白了少年头」之句，正与此句精神相通，可见其影响之深。

The opening line sets its bone through two paired contrasts, the starting point of the poem's argument. 'Youth' is set against 'learning' - the years of greatest energy against the task that most demands effort; 'slips away' against 'hard to complete' - the speed of time against the difficulty of study. The four terms press against one another with visible tension: the easier youth slips, the more time must be cherished; the harder learning is, the sooner it must begin. Zhu Xi offers no vague sigh but tethers 'grows old' directly to 'youth,' insisting on how brief springtime is - ordinary men think youth is just beginning and time is long ahead, but the teacher strikes sharply: youth is precisely when age comes fastest. This counterintuitive emphasis is characteristic of the Neo-Confucian method of urgent awakening, the poem's first alarm bell. The later cry 'do not idly let youth turn white-headed' shares this very spirit.

一寸光阴不可轻。

not an inch of time may be taken lightly.

哪怕一寸光阴也不可轻易放过。

Not even an inch of time may be squandered.

承句直揭题旨，是全诗的中心论断。「一寸光阴」极言其短：光阴本无形，以「寸」计量，是把时间空间化、具象化，谓其少而贵、转瞬即逝，其源可溯至《淮南子》「圣人不贵尺之璧而重寸之阴」，《晋书·陶侃传》亦有「大禹圣者，乃惜寸阴」之语，此句实浓缩了古训的精华。「不可轻」三字斩截有力：不是「当爱惜」的劝勉，而是「不可轻」的禁令，语含不容置疑的告诫之意。全句七字，无一虚设，尺璧寸阴之喻与斩钉截铁之辞相结合，理足而气盛。朱熹之为学，主张「循序渐进」「积累工夫」，深知为学如撑上水船、一篙不可放缓；此句正是这种苦学精神的诗化表达。它把抽象的惜时之理压缩成一句可诵可铭的格言，故能脱离全诗而独立流传，成为后世座右铭。

The second line states the theme directly, the poem's central proposition. 'An inch of time' measures how brief time is: time, invisible, is quantified by the 'inch,' spatialized and made tangible, precious and fleeting. The idea goes back to Huainanzi - 'the sage does not prize a foot of jade but values an inch of time' - and to Tao Kan's saying that even Yu the Great, a sage, treasured every inch. 'May not be taken lightly' is categorical: not an exhortation 'to cherish' but a prohibition, an admonition brooking no dispute. In seven words nothing is wasted; the classical metaphor joins the trenchant phrasing, reason and vigor alike. Zhu Xi, who taught that learning must proceed step by step with cumulative effort, knew study is like rowing upstream - not a stroke may slacken. The line compresses this austere ethic into a maxim one can memorize, which is why it has outlived the poem to become a motto.

未觉池塘春草梦，

Before the dream of spring grass by the pond has faded,

还没有觉察到池塘边春草的春梦已经逝去。

Before one has waked from the spring dream of grass by the pond,

转句由议论转入意象，是全诗由理入境的转折点。「未觉」二字写浑然不觉之态——青春的美好如春梦一般，人在梦中，焉知梦短；「池塘春草」化用谢灵运「池塘生春草」及梦惠连得句之典，兼有春景之美与梦境之幻，美好而不可恃。此句之妙在「未觉」与「梦」的配合：梦者，迷离惝恍，倏忽即逝；未觉者，身在梦中，不觉其短。诗人以春草之梦喻青春，正谓少年沉迷于春光诗思之中，浑然不知老之将至。此句写「春」而实为「秋」作反衬，为下句的陡转蓄势。朱熹以理学家而写此迷离之境，非徒赏其美，乃欲以美之易逝警人之当醒——「未觉」正是「不可轻」的反面演示：唯其未觉，才更须时时提撕。一句之中，诗情与理致水乳交融，说理诗至此已入化境。

The turning line shifts from argument to image, the point where the poem passes from reason into mood. 'Before one has waked' renders the state of being wholly unaware - the beauty of youth is like a spring dream, and within the dream one never knows how short it lasts. 'Spring grass by the pond' transforms Xie Lingyun's famous line 'by the pond grows the spring grass' and the tale that the verse came to him in a dream of his cousin, blending the beauty of spring scenery with the illusory quality of dreams - lovely, yet not to be relied on. The beauty lies in the pairing of 'unaware' and 'dream': a dream is dim and fleeting; to dream unawares is to feel nothing of its shortness. Comparing youth to the dream of spring grass, the poet means the young, lost in springtime beauty, never sense age drawing near. Writing 'spring,' the line secretly prepares 'autumn,' gathering force for the turn ahead.

阶前梧叶已秋声。

the plane leaves before the steps already whisper of autumn.

台阶前的梧桐叶已经传来了秋声。

the plane leaves before the steps already carry the sound of autumn.

合句以秋声作结，是全诗最警动的一笔。「阶前」写近在咫尺，梧叶非在远山，而在眼前阶下，时序之变就在身边发生；「梧叶」本于「梧桐一叶落，天下尽知秋」的物候传统，是秋的信使；「已」字与上句「未觉」呼应，写出猝不及防之感——春梦方酣而秋声已至，中间仿佛没有过渡，光阴就在「未觉」的刹那溜走。「秋声」二字最见功力：不言落叶而写声，梧叶之响、秋风之吟如在耳际，以听觉写时序，声色俱到。至此，前二句的抽象告诫全部落到这幅「春梦秋声」的画面上：青春如梦而未觉，梧叶秋声已盈庭，惜时之理不待言说而自明。全诗以「少年易老」的直说起，以「梧叶秋声」的意象结，理愈说愈深、境愈转愈美，是劝学诗中最富诗意的结尾，故能千载传诵。

The closing line ends in the sound of autumn, the poem's most startling stroke. 'Before the steps' is close at hand - the plane leaves are not on distant hills but at one's own doorway, and the change of seasons happens right beside us. The plane tree carries the lore that 'when one plane leaf falls, all the world knows autumn'; it is autumn's messenger. The word 'already' answers 'unaware' from the line above, giving the shock of the unexpected: the spring dream is at its sweetest, and the autumn sound has already arrived, as if no interval existed, time slipping away in that very instant of unawareness. 'The sound of autumn' is the masterstroke: instead of describing falling leaves, it writes the sound - the rustle of plane leaves and the sigh of autumn wind seem to ring in the ear, capturing the season through hearing. Thus the earlier abstract warnings all land on this picture of spring dream and autumn sound: youth is dreamt unawares, and autumn leaves already fill the courtyard, so the lesson of time's preciousness needs no further word.

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Word focus

易 Easy (contrast with 'hard' to show speed of aging) 「少年易老」之「易」，与「学难成」之「难」对举，是全诗第一组张力所在。「易」字写老之容易：常人谓老去为自然之事，朱熹着一「易」字，强调的不是「必然」而是「轻率」——老不是缓缓而来，而是轻易而至、倏忽即至，少年方以为岁月悠长，转眼便已老大。与「难」字对照，更见警策：老去何等容易，学成何等艰难，一易一难，快慢悬殊，惜时之必要不言自明。此字之妙在反常识的强调：人都以为少年离老尚远，朱子偏说少年易老，当头一喝，正是理学「提撕警觉」的教法。后世「光阴似箭」「白驹过隙」皆状其速，而「易」字兼状其「不费力」，最为警动。一字之立，全诗议论之基已定，故「易」实为全诗第一诗眼。

轻 Lightly (with negation, stresses not to waste time) 「一寸光阴不可轻」之「轻」，是警策语中的压轴字。「轻」有轻视、轻慢、轻放之义，朱子不用「废」「弃」「失」等字，而用「轻」，妙处在写出惜时之难不在「不知」而在「不经意」——人非不知光阴可贵，只是轻轻放过，一念之轻，遂成蹉跎。故「不可轻」不是泛泛的劝勉，而是针对人性弱点的针砭：时光之失，多失于轻忽。此字与「一寸」配合，愈见其重：寸阴至短，轻之者多，而朱子偏以斩截语气禁之，语愈短而力愈重。朱熹论为学尝谓「小处不放过」，此「不可轻」正其「敬」字的诗化表达——「主一无适」之敬，落实于光阴，便是分秒不可轻弃。一字千钧，故能脱离全诗成为独立格言，其警策力正源于「轻」字的精准。

未觉…已 Before realizing...already (used to show the unnoticed passage of time, creating tension) 「未觉池塘春草梦，阶前梧叶已秋声」之「未觉」与「已」遥相呼应，是转合二句的时间结构枢纽。「未觉」写知觉之迟：春梦方酣，人在梦中，浑然不知其短；「已」写时序之速：梧叶秋声，已然盈庭，不容分说。一迟一速、一梦一醒，把从春到秋的漫长时间压缩为「未觉」与「已」之间的刹那，如惊雷骤至，令人措手不及。这两个虚字是全诗的机关所在：若无「未觉」，则春梦只是写景；若无「已」，则秋声只是伤秋；二字搭桥，春梦秋声遂成时间流逝的完整隐喻——青春之逝不在远方，就在你「未觉」的当口。朱熹炼虚字之精，于此可见：不着一个「惜」「叹」字，而时光不可留之痛、不可轻之诫，尽在两个虚字的张力之中。